Showpony Advertising acquires Indie digital and social media agency Online Circle Digital

Online Circle Digital, led by Lucio Ribeiro, one of the pioneers in digital and social marketing in Australia, has been fully acquired by Showpony Advertising. All team remains with the business servicing current and upcoming clients.

Says Ribeiro (pictured): “After ten years I say goodbye to a successful business I built bare hands with my business partner. I’m very proud of our collective and individual achievements. While Online Circle Digital continues to operate as usual, I will now fully embrace AI as a practice to delivering positive business impact. With my credentials in Artificial intelligence, I have won awards in AI and certification by MIT; it’s time for me to help businesses and senior leaders to distinguish between noise and truth in AI.”

The first step, for now, for the former MD was to start Demystifying AI, a YouTube show dedicated to explaining AI. His first guests include Fernando Machado, Global CMO at Burger King and Salil Ajuda, head of AI at IBM Watson.

The two businesses, Showpony Advertising and Online Circle Digital, had been working together as associates for the last few years among typical clients. The combined business has offices in Melbourne and Adelaide.

“I’m excited with the alignment of two forces together,” says Jamie Scott, Managing Director, Showpony Advertising. “Working on projects with the Online Circle team revealed a creative and cultural alignment that we just couldn’t ignore,” continues Jamie Scott. “We loved working with them so much that we’ve jumped at the chance to make it permanent.”

“Both teams got well along, Online Circle team continues the same, and it is business as usual for our clients and partners,” says Ribeiro.